Legacy
by UnwantedAutumn
Summary: Right and wrong were always hard to tell apart. Is Sriya "the murderer of Harry Potter" as evil as they said she was? Or is Cristina Riddle "bad" considering her mom was taken by the "good guys"? Or is it really Ariella, Rebecca, Peter, and more of the third generation of the Potter legacy "bad" for fighting what they saw "right"? In the third war, nothing is right, or wrong.
1. Chapter 1 - Ever

Cold fog clunged to every corner of the town. It wrapped around the dimly light streets posts, drifted over the worn road, and climbed up the sides of the silent houses. There was no moon tonight, making everything outside nearly impossible to see to the young Ariella Potter, waiting for her grandpa to come home.

The fire danced warmly, and the soft, plush chairs in which the golden brown haired girl sat upon were warm and inviting, and it was nearly midnight. But her brown eyes did not drop, they almost did not blink, as she waited silently. The minutes inched by, the fire dying, the fog looming. The chairs creating, the floorboards groaning, the girl's eyes unblinking.

The street lamps went off one by one, leaving the peaceful, seemingly peaceful British town in the dark. Ariella was left in the dark, the fire dying, the warm flickers no longer dancing. But she still watched, waiting at the window.

The floorboards groaned loudly as a bright blue light filled the room, illuminating James Potter, who stood at the doorframe of the living room, holding his wand out.

The streets stood empty, holding no sign of Harry Potter, her grandpa.

But Ariella still sat there. She sat there for the whole day. She heard the what the adults were saying in the kitchen. She knew what it meant. She knew, but she didn't want to.

James smiled faintly as his daughter turned towards him. He shifted his weight slowly, thinking deeply, thinking of his words.

Ariella sat there, waiting, knowing, a cold feeling gripping her like the fog gripped the lamp posts at the empty street. The empty street.

James sighed, his wand still out, giving the room it's blue light. "I love you. I do, but it's late. It's cold, your tired, I'm tired, let's go get some rest."

"Why?" Ariella asked, turning back towards the window.

"Because you need sleep to function," James responded, his eyebrows scrunched up.

"No, not that. Why? Why isn't Grandpop home? He went out this afternoon, he didn't come back. He never forgets to come back" Her eyes shifted back towards James, knowing, but still hoping, not quite ready to let go.

"He's," James dropped his wand, the room lost it's light. The town was completely dark now. The house of the Potter's dark and cold and foggy, like a dementor.

"He's" Ariella echoed, her throat tightening.

"Not coming tonight."

"Tonight?" Ariella echoed again, refusing to believe it.

"Nor ever," James rushed towards the twelve year old girl, hugging her skinny frame as if she would float away like a lost ballon.

"Ever?" Ariella sobbed, her tears lost in the darkness.

"Ever."

The article was published the next morning: The Boy Who Lived Lives No More: Killed By Sriya In An Unprovoked Attack. Her grandpa is dead. Harry Potter is dead.

Hello! Welcome to my first fanfic made with the help of ElChocolate, Cristina, WhaletheWhale, TheShyNekoPeep, and FashioningFuture.

This is about the third generation of Hogwarts, and what life is like now for the seemingly peaceful wizarding world. It follows canon of previous stories, including the Child's Curse. What I mean by this is that all the kids of Harry's generation is the same and their children, and then their children's children, though I'm not including the time travel because that messes everything up.

The story may be a little slow paced at all times, but later it will makes sense (There is a pre-written plot, but it can be somewhat flexible at times). There is also nothing to inappropriate in this story like swears, though there may be some fights, if you look out for those things.

Disclaimer: We don't own any of this nor are we making a profit off this story...and all of your other standard disclaimers to ensure you aren't sued or anything.

And with all that, I hope you enjoy!


	2. Chapter 2 - Hogwarts Express

**Disclaimer: We don't own any of this nor are we making a profit off this story...and all of your other standard disclaimers to ensure you aren't sued or anything.**

* * *

Ariella Potter sat snoozing on the plush chair, the same chair that sat next to the window. The same window she looked out for Grandpa and waited for him to come home. She was still waiting, even when the newspapers came out and c told the story of his murder.

But today was different, the household was no longer sitting in sad silence surrounded by looming fog. In fact, the house was in the opposite state: Chairs were tipped over, covered by mis-matched pieces of unpacked clothing. In the kitchen pots and pans were thrown carelessly into the sink as if the owners were hungrier than lions. The bedrooms were hit by tornadoes, sheets thrown onto the bookcases, and the books thrown onto the beds.

Every bed was vacant, but not everybody was awake.

James Potter stumbled around the household trying desperately to find his children's potion kits, textbooks, quills, pet food, and throwing away extra candy that was stuffed into the cauldrons. He trudged his way through the halls that were covered clothing, books, and the occasional chair just to make sure nothing was forgotten.

"Dad!" A young teen yelled across the house, pulling out his blond hair, "where in the world is my prefects badge?"

"I told you to finish packing last night, Matt! Now we're going to be late! I can't help you find it, ask your sister Ariella, I have to call an Uber to drive us to the station!" James shouted back, annoyed by how messy his house was.

Matt popped his head into the hallway, his eyebrows scrunched up, "An Uber?"

"Stupid Muggle stuff combining with Wizarding World," James muttered while tossing Matt a forgotten textbook.

Matt nodded absently, catching it, "Where in the world is Ariella?"

"Ariella!" James yelled.

A girl's brown eyes opened confused. The light blinded her for a moment before she remember where she was.

I less than a second Ariella scrambled out of the chair she accidentally slept in. "What is it Dad? Can't find the bird feed? I packed it!"

"No, I can't find my prefects badge!" Matt groaned.

"Ask Jack, he'll help." Ariella suggested, still a little light-headed from getting up to fast.

"Your brother went to Gringotts this morning, I told you, he has a new job!" James explained pushing past the two to get out of the kitchen. "Now finish packing, your rides coming in fifteen minutes!"

"Packing for what?" Ariella said, turning towards Matt.

Matt's blue eyes looked down at the smaller girl, "It's the first day of school and-"

"OH!" Ariella's eyes grew and with that she scrambled up the stairs to her room, racing to find her missing pairs of socks.

For the next fifteen minutes the house was chaos (Well, even more chaos), in the end it looked like they all just fought fifty blast-ended skewerts, the house faring no better either. When the Uber finally pulled up in front of the house, they had just finished packing and proceeded to fill the car with their school trunks, the driver watching confused and even scared when the newest Weasley's Wizard Wheezes toys started exploding. But, with help from James pushing everyone to go faster, the car eventually left the driveway of the house. Ariella watched as their house went by and many others too and how it eventually faded into the red bricks of King's Cross Station.

Ariella, Matt, and James all walked up to the wall between platforms 10 and 9 and leaned casually on the wall. No one of the Muggles noticed when Ariella's cart started being absorbed by the bricks or how Matt's arms started to vanish. In less than a minute the family found themselves swept into the hustle and bustle of platform 9 3/4.

Ariella could hear the murmurs of parents ushering their final good-byes, the small laughs of friends seeing each other once more, and she could hear the screech of annoyed owls waking up so early.

Clove screeched inside his cage, trying to respond to the calls of other birds. The beautiful red tailed hawk was Ariella's pet bird. Though he was an unusual choice of bird for a wizard, Ariella loved him with all her heart since the day they found him with a broken wing in that strange pet shop. They decided to take him in, instead of leaving him with the weird owner...

The family walked together for a while in silence, until they reached the point where the conductor was warning parents to get their kids on or they won't go to school. Ariella sighed, but looked happily up at the train.

"Your grandpa would've been so proud of both of you," James sniffled wiping his eyes with the sleeve of his cloak.

"Dad…," Ariella started to say. She looked at him standing there with that sweet yet goofy grins on his face, his eyes full of pride. She extended her arms out to him. He pulled her in and she was wrapped in the warmth of his soft cloak, his heart near hers.

"I'll miss you Dad," Ariella whispered.

"I know, I know, just remember: My days are brighter than morning air...," James sang.

"Yes Dad, how could I ever forget that song?" Ariella replied, groaning inwardly as if hearing this a thousand times.

"Don't I get a hug?" Matt broke the silence, checking his watch.

"Group hug!" Ariella cheered.

"You rascals."

The horn blew again, the train humming.

Matt pulled Ariella out of the hug, or the other way around. Either way, they needed to get ow the bright red train. Ariella waved to her dad one last time as Matt helped lug up her trunks. But as soon as he was done and waved back at his dad too, he walked off to go find his friends.

Ariella paused, staring at the compartments around her.

Where would she sit? She just realized that coming on this late was a bit of a mistake, she had no clue where her friends were. Ariella just decided to find somewhere quick, she could already feel the train moving and it would be hard to walk around with her trunk in motion.

She wondered down the train for a minute, avoiding the cart full of rude fifth years who jeered and laughed as she walked by. She walked for some more time, and was surprised when she reached the last section of the train. Shrugging, Ariella decided to test her luck and opened the nearest half empty compartment.

She sat down, and there were only two people there: A fidgety boy with redish-brown hair sitting across a girl with shoulder length brown hair. The boy was staring out the window, his face in deep concentration. The girl was trying to suppress a smile.

"Hi." said the girl, turning her head out the sound of the door opening. "I'm Rebecca. This is Peter." She gestured to the boy. He looked away from the window and turned his gaze on Ariella.

"I think I might know you Peter from-" Ariella started saying.

"You've got a hawk!" He said, gaping at Clove.

"Oh, yeah," Ariella replied, her face growing red, "it's a long story."

"What does he do?" Peter asked.

"He well, he does what any owl does I guess," Ariella said looking at Clove. Clove puffed up his chest and stood tall. "He does have a funny sense of humor too," she added, unsure of the response the boy wanted.

"Anyway…," Rebecca interrupted, "what house are you in?"

"Oh, I'm in Gryffindor. Can I sit here?" Rebecca shrugged and Ariella put away her belongings and sat down next to Rebecca,

"SI'm in Gryffindor too," Peter said.

"I've seen you around, though it's funny why we've never talked." Peter nodded quickly at Ariella's response and looked back at the window giving now view of his face.

"I'm in Slytherin," said Rebecca. "By the way what's your name, like full name? I like to meet new people." Peter looked back at Rebecca again.

"Oh yeah! Almost forgot! I'm Ariella Potter."

"You're related to the headmaster? Is that embarrassing?" Peter asked.

"Well, not really. Except when I get in trouble for sneaking to the kitchen, but he's mostly fun, but not lately since that blasted Sriya mur-," Ariella closed her mouth abruptly realizing what she said. Her face grew white and her palms clammy, she shifted in her seat and hung her head.

Silence hung in the air. They all remembered seeing _The Daily Prophet_ article, telling the news. Peter stopped fidgeting, Rebecca's back straightened.

"Anyway, do you want to hear a riddle? I promise it's a really good one," Ariella said abruptly and rapidly, uncomfortable with the silence. She had a feeling they we're too, by the way Rebecca eagerly asked ti get it.

"A spirited jig it dances bright, Banishing all but darkest night. Heat can't kill it but water can. Share it, it won't get less unless wind get's to it,"

"Is it a flame-resistant dancer who is glow-in-the-dark that banishes everything but night and it's weakness is wind and water?" Peter asked, wearing a stupid grin.

"What does that mean?" Rebecca asked. Peter shrugged.

"="I don't know." Rebecca said eventually after a minute or two, surrendering. "I know it gives off light and heat, right? Oh wait, it's fire!"

"It is fire!" Ariella said, her mind flickering back to the fire that crackled that night, the night with the fog, the night with the - Ariella shook her head, banishing the thoughts.

"I still don't get." Peter said his eyebrows scrunched up as he lay back into the train seat.

"Fire flickers so it looks like it's dancing. It glows in the dark, and it can't kill itself, but water can. It won't lessen if you take some, but wind can blow it out." Rebecca explained, Ariella nodded in approval.

"Ok." Peter shrugged again, he shrugged a lot, then again, he was clueless a lot. But not so clueless as to know the voice that started coming down the hall, with the all familiar wheels following the voice. The snack trolley rolled by, and the woman leaned in past their compartment door.

"Would you like to buy anything, dears?" She asked.

"I've already got stuff," Peter said, pulling an assortment of candies out of his pocket.

"Peter! I'm not eating puking pastilles!" Rebecca yelled at him. She turned to the trolley lady. "Three cauldron cakes, please."

"On me," Ariella offered. Ariella then looked at Peter. "And a box of Bertie Bott's every flavor jelly beans,". The lady gave them their sweets and Ariella gave her the coins.

"We all have to eat a jellybean," Rebecca said as soon as the lady left. She reached into the box and pulled out one that was light green. She popped it in her mouth. "Grass," she gagged her face turning to the same shade as the jelly bean. "My sister actually likes the grass flavored one."

"Eeeew!" Peter groaned loudly after quickly eating a jelly bean. "I got barf flavored!".

Ariella laughed. "Seems fitting I suppose."

"Oh yeah? Let's see you go!" Peter remarked.

"Okay," Ariella shrugged picking up a sun colored jelly bean from the box. She tossed it into the air and caught it with her mouth, "Mmmm….! Lemon drops!"

"So unfair," Rebecca teased, sticking out a green tongue.

"Ha, the one who should be speaking of unfairness is you, Potter," A new voice drawled.

The laughter died quick as the room grew hot and tense, all eyes glaring at the newcomer.

"And why should I be thinking this is unfair?" Ariella asked, crossing her arms.

"Well first of all, you have to be stuck with a bunch of silly, let's say, _hooligans_. You Potter, I heard cool things about you during my second year and I decided to check you out," The black haired boy looked up and down at Potter and Ariella could feel him searching for every imperfection. "And what do I see you doing? Hanging out with _him_. If you come with me you can change the world! I did hear there were some uprisings…"

Ariella's eyes clouded over, wondering if he was referencing _that_ night.

Peter stood up, his back tense. "Now _Oliver_ _,_ I don't care if your annoyed at the 'dung bomb' incident last year or that I happened to beat you in Potions every day last year-"

Oliver scoffed, "You can hardly get water to boil!"

Peter fumed, "Well it's better than having to have the professor peel you off the wall when your glue solution exploded!"

"Well I don't care about you, Stupid. I just wanted to say 'hi' to Ariella. Now shove off."

"Can we talk in a _private compartment_ for a moment please?" Ariella asked.

"Ariella?" Rebecca started.

Ariella turned and gave her new friends an _I got this_ look. Then she got up and walked the boy out the door.

"So," Peter said, his jaw still clenched after Ariella left, "wanna have another jelly bean?"

Rebecca shrugged eyeing the door and reached over to grab another one. She picked up a daring brown jelly bean.

She carefully studied it as if it was a bomb about to go off.

Peter raised an eyebrow "You sure about this one?".

Rebecca nodded and popped it into her mouth.

"Wait!" Peter said surprised. "You actually ate that? But it could've been-"

"Rootbeer!" Rebecca interrupted with a proud look on her face.

"Hmph," Peter stuck out his tongue and looked out the window.

Golden meadows filled with brilliant blue flowers covered the county-side. Houses were scattered about occasionally, but they grew increasingly rare as time went by and the meadows gave way to rich, green, tangled forests filled with who knew what. The sun kept climbing down the mostly clear sky and Peter's stomach filled with stones as more time went by.

"Do you think we should check on her?" He asked Rebecca as a long ten minutes went past.

Rebecca mentally weighed her options, but gave no response. Peter glanced at the view again, but this time at the window there was a soft outline of a person. Peter jumped backwards and slipped off the chair.

"What's so spooky?" Ariella asked, sitting down.

"Your back!" Peter quickly got up, slightly red.

"Yeah."

"You okay? What did Oliver want?" Rebecca asked.

"He wanted to be my girlfriend so he could be "friends" with the headmaster, I didn't let him. He got pretty mad and we fought. I won of course," Ariella smiled, trying to cover up the big, blue bruise on her shin.

Her friends looked down, but didn't say anything. Instead, Peter suggested to play exploding snap, and they still were playing that as the sun finally dipped under the hills and the stars came to say hello. The forests outside the window turned to a small station, giving the view of a large castle in the distance. Ariella, Peter, and Rebecca all dragged their trunks down the corridor, smiling and already forgetting any troubles on the train.

Soon they were walking into the entrance held up by tall, stone talked and the people rushed around inside them, pointing to the students light up by the torches. The dining hall was brilliantly decorated in rows of the house flags, as it always was on the opening feast. The ceiling looked endless, matching the bright stars outside. Peter and Ariella promised to see Rebecca soon as they split ways for the different tables.

"I hope my sister is sorted into Gryffindor too," Peter said as they found a seat next to each other.

"I hope she does too, that way she has a brother for advice," Ariella replied softly, thinking back to Matt. But she didn't say much else. Even if the Great Hall was massive, there were many excited and hungry students all running to sit down. In no time at all the seats were filled and the students quiet, each one looking up at the man in light blue robes who stood at the podium.

"Hello everyone, new students and old! Welcome to Hogwarts!" Albus Potter's voice boomed across the hall. "May you heed my warning that the Forbidden Forest is not to be entered, and that anything that belongs to Weasley's Wizards Wheezes is not permitted. Quidditch tryouts will continue like every year, so ask your Head of House about that. That is all, and as it is tradition, of ever since a year I can't recall, let the sorting ceremony begin!" He gestured to the worn stool and brown hat the stood infront of him. The hat sat their plainly, looking as boring as a history class in Hogwarts. Albus coughed loudly, and the hat quickly sat up and started to sing.

 _I'm am the Hogwarts sorting hat_

 _And I was built long ago_

 _From the four founding wizards_

 _Who built Hogwarts on their own_

 _When they were alive and young_

 _They would sort the kids by their own voice_

 _But they realized when they were dead and gone_

 _They would need someone else to make the choice_

 _So here is where I come along_

 _And I can say with loads of pride_

 _No matter who the wizard is remember that_

 _In your house you can be satisfied_

 _You could be sorted as an eager Hufflepuff_

 _In there they are loyal, true, and kind_

 _Their hearts are full of learning and love_

 _And that is truly divine_

 _Or you could be a lionhearted Gryffindor_

 _Where they are brave and strong_

 _They do they're job to protect and help_

 _And I couldn't see that as wrong_

 _Or how about in wise Ravenclaw_

 _Where they are always ready to learn_

 _This house is filled of passion and knowledge_

 _Something worthy to earn_

 _And yet there still is clever Slytherin_

 _Those people are mischievously cunning_

 _Full of pride and ambition_

 _That's certainly isn't nothing_

 _So try me on!_

 _I promise I don't bite_

 _I'll just look inside your head_

 _And find where you'll fit in just right_

"When you are called up," Professor Arbor, a tall man, started to say, "sit on the stool and hold still while I put the hat on your head. First up is Whitney Ables!"

Whitney, clearly trying to hide his nervousness, walked up quickly, then slowed down again, then ran up to the stool.

"Hello," he said timidly to the hat.

"I know that kid," a fellow Gryffindor said next to Ariella. "He's so nice I wouldn't be surprised if he was a Hufflepuff. He even gave away all his christmas presents that he got over the last five years to charity."

"Really?" another voice asked.

Ariella craned her neck to look at the small boy. He sat there with a small smile.

"Slytherin!" the hat shouted. Rebecca's table cheered.

"That's a surprise," the Gryffindor next to her looked shocked, staring at the boy.

Cheers went up at the Slytherin table as the little new Slytherin scurried there ready to meet his fellow housemates.

"Ivy Berter!" Professor Arbor called. A small girl with long blond hair came forward.

"Ravenclaw!" The hat shouted even before it touched her head.

"Shauna Bax!" was soon followed by a Hufflepuff.

"Chris Blan" was followed by a loud Hufflepuff

"Oops my dear apologies Nouvel I skipped you! Nouvel Audacia." a girl with reddish brown hair skipped to the stool with a giant smile. There was the shortest pause but it was soon followed by a tremendous 'Gryffindor!'

The girl quickly went to the cheering table. She looked around not knowing where to go. Then she caught Ariella's watching eyes and came to her.

"Can I sit here?" she asked sweetly.

"Yes," Ariella quickly replied.

The sorting ceremony seemed to drawl on and Ariella half-heartldy fought to not space-out or start day-dreaming. It was a long ceremony, and the bruise on her leg started to itch and swell, and her stomach rumbled, and -

"That's my sister!" Peter exclaimed an almost identical female copy of Peter skipped up towards the stool. Peter didn't take his eyes of her until she was finally sorted, and to Peter's relief, made her way to sit next to her brother.

The rest of the ceremony went by in a blur, as well as the much needed dinner. Soon all the students parted to their respective rooms as soon as they left the Great Hall. Peter was so busy talking to his sister he didn't even notice Ariella slip away to the infirmary without telling anyone.

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 **This chapter was a little rushed at the end, so sorry for that. I hoped you enjoyed it anyways.**

 **-UnwantedAutumn**


	3. Chapter 3 - Azkaban

Sriya lay down on a rough bed still confused of how she got here. Sure, she knew she killed Harry Potter but so what? He was in her house, and she defended herself. The only way to do that was to kill! It's not like Harry Potter's death was a huge loss or anything. He wasn't even a hero!

 _This is unfair!_ Sriya thought to herself. She felt so alone in this wretched prison. The shock of killing a fellow human being still clung to her, draining her voice, her heart, her soul. But she refused to admit it. She knew she couldn't show weakness here, but, there was still another feeling that didn't seem to shrug off no matter what she did. A horrid word filled her mind.

 _Alone_.

"Someone please help, please!" She shouted into the distance, the dark gloomy distance, the cold distance, the distance that never responded back. No one listened to her, not even justice would bother to listen to her cries.

She pulled herself up so her head rested in her grimy hands. They took her wand when she arrived here in Azkaban so she was defenseless against the fury of the dementors. It's not like she even knew how to cast a good, effective, patronus. What happy memories could she provide now?

"Go away," she mumbled as one drifted past the rusty bars of her cold cell. She could feel her soul drift towards him and Sriya shuddered. It was so cold here, it was always cold

Shivering, she gave into to her thirsty thoughts of escape. They seemed so ripe and full of promise, but when she tried to think them into action they drifted away out of her reach. Freedom always hung there, but never could be grabbed. It drove her insane.

Cold, dark, trapped, alone. Cold, dark, trapped, alone. The thoughts pumped in rhythm with her heart, with her blood, with her constant headache, they became her.

She stood 5 foot 3, and the ceiling was 10 feet higher than her. There was no way that she would be able to reach the roof to escape. Either way, there was more than one floor to Azkaban.

She sighed, brushing her coffee colored hands through her black hair. Her hair was horribly curled, standing on it's ends every which way. Sadly, it fit perfectly with her only clothing, a black shirt and black pants, wich hung loose on her, dirty and filthy and ragged and worn. She smelled like _death._ And death did not smell good. She knew that much, people died often here. She heard the stories from the others about the people who go mad, off their bonkers crazy from the dementors, scraping their nails on the walls 'till they blessed crazy. Then they died, the crazy ones never stood a chance, she had to keep her cool.

But it was cold and dark, she was trapped and alone.

Cold, dark, trapped.

Alone

Her eyes drifted into unwelcome sleep.

When she woke up, she expected to see the pile of pillows that usually surrounded her and a soft plush bed. But today she woke up to the sound of agonizing screams that filled her cell. Her hair was tangled in knots from pulling way too much on it. With nothing better to do than wallow in self-pity, she walked up to the cell bars.

"Hey newbie," a gruff voice shouted at her "what did you do to get in here?".

Sriya stood there shocked, she hadn't heard another voice in so long, but she quickly came back to her senses.

 _Why am I here? I did nothing wrong, I'm only a friend of Cristina Riddle, is that bad?_

"I did nothing," Sriya calmly stated.

"They all say that,"

Sriya sighed deeply, whenever would her friends come and save her?

 _Hopefully,_ a voice drifted through her brain.

They were her only hope now in this dark prison.

But hope did not belong here.

Cristina Riddle strolled out into a busy train station, her boots clicking on the concrete. She flicked her hand to brush away her golden brown hair that covered her dark, stormy eyes. A purple cloak trailed behind her, flowing around her dark blue skinny jeans.

Out of all these days she could chose to save Sriya it had to be the busiest day.

 _That could be an advantage,_ Cristina pondered. _But why is it so busy?_

Then it hit her.

It was the first day at Hogwarts!

Cristina looked around rapidly. If anyone saw her they could start an enormous commotion. Normally she wouldn't be scared about that at all. But if she was spotted today it could alert the ministry and would catch her in her daring escape plan. Quickly thinking she hurried into an ally making sure no one was following her.

 _Okay,_ she thought carefully. _How close can I apparate to Azkaban?_

Cristina gave a twirl and with a crack she was gone.

 _I should've brought a bathing suit,_ Cristina sighed as she glided silently on a small boat. She was making her way across the water, leaving ripples behind in a wake.

The big, foggy, cold, gray prison called Azkaban stood on an island in the distances. The waves were dark, almost black, and whenever the boat rocked the water soaked into Cristina's skin, causing her lips to turn blue. But the water was nothing compared to the cold emitting from the prison, the fog that surrounded it seemed to be the essence of cold. But it was only a soft gray color, it wasn't good enough for Cristina.

Cristina stuck out her wand in front of her and with no words ushered, the tip started forming a huge screen of black fog that was impossible to see through.

When the deed was done, Cristina and her boat vanished, and she didn't appear again until she was standing at the entrance, her face cold and emotionless, her eyes only twinkling with the teeniest bit of joy.

As she made her long walk to the far side of the prison she thought back to her main goals, mostly why she was saving Sriya in the first place.

 _We could bring fairness and justice to the world. For I_ know _I'm not the cruelest person here on Earth, unlike the stupid Potters. I could avenge my friends and my mom and dad._

Cristina looked back on a memory so dear to her.

She was a small child when her mom gently placed her in bed.

"I know it's early sweetie, but Mommy will be back," she had said gently at the time, brushing her baby's soft blond hair.

"Promise?" Cristina whispered clutching a fake snake toy.

"I promise, Mommy is going to make justice in the world, save the blind wizards who have been living so wrong for so many years."

Delphi got up and left the room, but before she closed the door fully she whispered:

"I'll be back baby, I love you."

She never came back.

Ever.

Cristina scowled, coming back to the present.

If she could kill all the Potter's and took over the ministry maybe they would realize what they have been doing so wrong for so long.

 _They are all idiots!_ She thought clutching her free hand into a fist. _I will finish my grandpa's, Voldemort's, wishes._

She sailed silently across the water staring at the cold prison.

Cage bars cluttered to the floor in Sriya's cell.

"Whatizgoinon?" Sriya grumbled waking up from her nightmare slumber.

She shut up immediately when she saw Cristina's bored face.

"Well don't I get a proper greeting or something? I mean, I just freed you or something of that sort."

"I, um, thank you Cristina. But how did you get in?"

"Oh that!" Cristina laughed an empty laugh, "that part was easy. Dementors apparently bend to my will, I'm surprised you haven't escaped on your own."

"Well I didn't have my wand the confiscated it you see.." Sriya started rambling.

"Oh this thing?" Cristina said tossing over a stick.

"Yes!" Sriya scrambled to catch it with delight, "Oh thank you!"

"You're sailing solo though, I have an extra boat at the front."

"I"m free," Sriya whispered.

"Yes you idiot, your free! Now let's go, I may have set off the alarms or something of the sort."

Sriya bowed her head, "Yes, yes. Sorry, let's go."

 **I'm sorry if anyone got confused by the title, Grinding. I meant for it to be 'Legacy' and had no clue it was Grinding until I was told... so yeah... It's a long story, but Legacy is a longer one, so I'll spend time writing that instead.**

 **Thank you!**


	4. Chapter 4 - The Minister of Magic

**Disclamer: We don't own any of this nor are we making a profit off this story...and all of your other standard disclaimers to ensure you aren't sued or anything.**

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The Minister of Magic leaned back leisurely in his chair, holding a hot cup of coffee. He sipped slowly while soft sunlight filled up the office. He sighed contentedly, he loved his job. Oh sure, being Minister of Magic was supposed to be tough, but the job was more relaxed now without any more wars.

But despite there being now wars, this one wizard barged into his office claiming that someone had escaped Azkaban.

The Minister laughed.

 _No one escapes Azkaban,_ He thought (forgetting about Sirius and Barty Crouch Jr...).

"Had anyone seen her escape? Are you sure that was her cell? Was she even sentenced to Azkaban in the first place? Go check your facts before telling me some ridicule thing, okay?" The Minister argued, staring intently at the man's eyes, then shooed him away.

The man followed obediently, almost as if he was in a trance.

The Minister smiled, returning back to his morning coffee and reviewed the latest daily profit. He flipped past the front covers and went to check his ratings. How much did the people like him?

90% of wizards and witches in the area approved of what he was doing. Awesome! But still, there was 10% who didn't like him...

The Minister whistled to himself quietly and put down his cup of coffee. He reached into the secret drawer of his desk and pulled out in ancient looking book. The cover was peeled back and torn in several places so it only read this: _The Anc- Art- f-_ _Ypno-sm._

He smiled, turning the pages to his favorite parts. Soon there wouldn't be anybody ho disagreed with him.

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 **A/N: Sorry that this is such a short chapter, and sorry to anybody who read it before it was edited. Some sections were written before, but now that I look back on it I feel like some parts don't fit like they should. But I hope you enjoy it anyway!**

 **\- UnwantedAutumn.**


	5. Chapter 5 - Secrets and Walks

**Disclamer: We don't own any of this nor are we making a profit off this story...and all of your other standard disclaimers to ensure you aren't sued or anything.**

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The fire crackled invitingly on Friday night in the Gryffindor common room, two nights after the welcoming feast. But even though school just started, laughter filled the room easily. People were talking loudly and playing games, perfectly at ease here, like it was their second home. The mood was spread easily, and as soon as Ariella entered through the portrait hole, she felt it and smiled.

"Ariella!" an energetic voice called. "Over here!"

Ariella barely had to look, as Peter's waving hand quickly caught her attention. She strolled over happily, glad to see that Cassy and Dan were both next to Peter too. They had all meet perviously in some way, Dan and Cassy both being Ariella's friends through the first and second year, and Peter from the train. Ariella managed to make her way over to them after struggling through the large the crowd of Gryffindors. The common room was extremely packed, and it was only five minutes after dinner (according to Ariella's watch).

Ariella smiled, "Hey-"

"Wait!" Peter shushed, cutting off Ariella. "This might be the first time I ever won a game of chess!"

Ariella carefully pulled over a soft, plush chair, and sat down on both her hands and the chair. She watched the (apparently) very tense game of chess. Peter's eyebrows were furrowed up as he stared intently at the spaces surrounding his black, marble bishop.

"Hey Ariella, what took you so long?" Dan asked easing back into his chair, watching Peter try to escape his wooden queen's trap. He turned his watch so it faced Ariella, proving his point. Ariella looked down at her own wrist, her eyebrows raised.

"What do you mean? Dinner was only seven minutes ago," Ariella replied. "Is your watch running fast?"

"Hogwash," Dan said.

"What about Hogwarts?" Peter asked as he leaned back triumphantly as he moved his bishop to what he thought was out of harm's way.

Dan sighed, "Not Hogwarts, _hogwash!_ But anyways, Ariella you're an hour late. Anything happen?" His eyes glanced to the bruise that was fading on her shin.

"Oh, with Oliver?" She inquired by following his light gray eyes. "I haven't seen him since then. No, I just went to the library and got a really good book, I guess I got a little lost in it. That's all."

Dan shrugged. "Okay," he said simply, watching his queen slice Peter's bishop in half.

Peter gaped, his hands gripping his hair. "What, no! No! I was so close!" Ariella laughed at his shocked expression. Peter closed his mouth at her laughter and blushed slightly, but quickly turned his focus back onto the chess game, determined.

Dan now sat back on the edge of his chair, facing Ariella. "What book did you find?"

Ariella shifted a little in her seat, then rested her hands on top of her lap, "Oh nothing really, just some ... just some book on how to care for ... birds"

Dan lifted his blond eyebrows, but said nothing. Silence hung in the air for a minute as they bother gazed at Peter, each one of them thinking of strategic plans for the small chess players.

Ariella glanced around. The crowd had thinned slightly, but it was still as loud as before. But even though she couldn't hear the soft crackle of fire, she suddenly noticed the shadows the flames left on the soft, plush chairs they were sitting in. It felt a lot like home, Ariella thought. _I wonder why?_

But soon she realized, the fireplace looked almost identical to the one James had built at home, because he was a Gryffindor. It hadn't occurred to her before, but before there were no memories associated with that place. Even with a fire burning brightly she still couldn't walk without feeling the cold the room once held. She even shivered now.

"I'm going to go to bed," Ariella (faked) yawned, stretching her arms out to prover her point.

"But I was just about to win!" Peter protested, pouting.

"Mmhmm," Dan crossed his arms.

"Well, you can tell me about it in the morning," Ariella said, straighten her robes, hands behind her back as she walked backwards, trying to catch a last glimpse of the game.

Ariella wished she took the invisibility cloak for the first week of school. But, when she lent it to her brother, she was thinking what could possible happen that would lead the assistance of invisibility?  
Yet here she was, trying to sneak around Hogwarts in the middle of the night. And even though she was good at sneaking in her house at home, it was nothing compared to sneaking in her house, Gryffindor, here. Yet, her grandpa did it so easily, maybe she should ask...

Ariella shook her head, trying to banish the thought. _No. Just, no._

In the process she almost tripped over the end of a rug. _Stupid, stupid, stupid._

Finally, she opened the Fat Lady's portrait and stepped outside into the dark hallway. Without the cloak one she noticed how every small, small step seemed to echo slightly. Or how each portrait that was sleeping moved around as she tip-toed by.

Each step was a step closer to detention...Ariella crossed her arms around her chest, holding a square object even closer to her heart.

Her eyes were wide and alert, but that didn't change the fact that she couldn't see in the dark. In fact, the farther she went, the darker it seemed to get. And no matter how much she strained her eyes, she could only see so far. But even in the dark she could swear tower where the owls stayed wasn't that far, nor did she remember seeing that statue ever on this corridor. Intact, where did that staircase come from? When did she get onto the same hall as this, what was this? It was just a huge empty wall. It stood out especially at Hogwarts, where there was always paintings, always knights in rusty armor. She paced confused in front of it.

She didn't really have to go to where Clove was, she just thought it be easier. Especially since he had wings and she could study him... Study him, she hand't thought of that before. Maybe the book did mention something about how studying birds could help achieve this ambitious goal. Besides that she need a place to practice, yes a place to practice. A place to practice is what she needed.

Just then a soft creaking sound could be heard. Ariella jumped up in fright, clutching her book tightly. She looked widely around but there were no suits of armor or moving picture that could've made that noise. So, she looked at the blank wall. But it was no longer - blank. Instead the white bricks started to shift around, some were gaining colors and some bricks were becoming smooth. Everything keept getting smoother or more gray or more thin until a large, iron door formed in the blank wall's space.

Ariella stared at it for a second, confused. Her brown eyes blinked, then she quickly grabbed the handle. Dad had told her about this, so had her brothers, and, Grandda-Grandma! Grandma as well!

 _This is perfect_ , she thought. _Perfect!_

* * *

 **A/N: Sorry to leave anyone on a cliffhanger, but it is very late and humans (sadly) can't function without sleep.**

 **But anyways, is anyone glad to know I'm not dead? It's been a while, yes, if anyone was reading this and craved another chapter, but I'm alive and well! More will be coming out soon but I'd really enjoy any comments. Hope you all have a nice day! (Is it weird to say that? Does that sound creepy?)**


	6. Chapter 6 - Malfoy Manor

**Disclaimer:** **We don't own any of this nor are we making a profit off this story...and all of your other standard disclaimers to ensure you aren't sued or anything.**

* * *

It had been a week since Sriya sailed through the night, following Cristina and ditching that horrid prison forever. Or as long as no one caught her, she thought.

Sriya sighed. She had never been a criminal before. In fact, she'd barely could borrow a quill from someone unless she had their permission. How would she deal with being wanted for murder? She did't even mean for it to happen, it all just, it was all... It was all what?

Sriya struggled for the right words.

She turned over on her soft, yellow and black queen sized bed. It looked almost like her Hufflepuff bed at even Hogwarts, just comfier and bigger. Sriya tried closing her eyes again, tried to let the darkness surround her. Even though she was out of Azkaban her sleep was still restless.

"You caused this," a voice whispered.

"Who's there?"

"Your victim," the strange voice replied. But it wasn't that strange, Sriya thought, She heard that voice on that day. She heard it yell and shout, before it was cut off and never heard anymore.

"No, no, no! It wasn't my fault," she cried, clutching her long, black hair.

"Then why am I dead? Why am I merely a memory?" Harry stepped out from the shadows that were in the corner of the bedroom. "Why were you in Azkaban?"

"It was an accident! I swear!" Tears started forming in her eyes.

"Then why do you carry such guilty thoughts?" Harry pressed coming closer. /span/span/p

"Please!"

Harry walked forward until he was standing at the edge of the bed, staring into her eyes. "Then why are you with that woman? The descendant of my enemy?"

"I'm not evil!" Sriya screamed.

Harry shook his head sadly, looking down. Then he looked up again, and lunged at Sriya.

The world swirled into blackness, the sound of Sriya's heartbeat filling all the empty space. "No!" she cried, thrashing wildly in her bed, throwing pillows everywhere, the blackness consuming her, her brain screaming for air.

Her eyes flickered open to a harsh light. Sriya blinked confused./span/span/p

She was on her bed, though it was now stripped of it's blankets and pillows and they seemed to find a new home on her bedroom floor. Sriya found herself panting, taking in as much air as she could, her heart still slamming as if trying to escape her chest. The face of Harry Potter was still engraved in her brain.

But there was no sign of him.

Sriya stayed in that state for a minute, then got up and out of her bed, nearly /span/spanspan style="white-space: pre-wrap;"running into a nightstand that wasn't there before. Spots danced in her eyes and she had to grip the edge of it for a few seconds before releasing something was placed on the small nightstand:

Dear Sriya, I heard you screaming in the night, maybe this will make you feel better. Also get dressed and come down quickly, I want to show you something, and someone. -Cristina  
P.S. I hope you like the new closet.

Sriya drank the mysterious black liquid that came with the note. Immediately a cool sensation washed over her body. She was no longer sweaty and her palms were no longer clammy. She felt sensation of being forever energetic, but also calmer an collected. Sriya sighed in relief, almost forgetting about the nightmare entirely. Feeling good, she looked in the closet-well it was more like a mini hallway-to see a ton of clothing her size. They ranged from fluffy pjs to huge ball gowns embedded with millions of dollars in jewelry. She threw on a sparkly blue top and sleek black pants that matched her darker skin tone before going out the door.

As Sriya walked down the long spiraled staircase, she could immediately tell something was off in the Malfoy Manor. Before it was just the two of them in this huge manor - just Cristina and Sriya. Sriya didn't question it really how Cristina had gotten this place. Especially since it wasn't rightfully hers.

When she reached the bottom of the steps Sriya started walking towards the kitchen. That's where they always meet first thing in the morning. They would just have breakfast and do whatever Cristina had planned. She always had something planned.

But now at the table the usually seated two, there was a third: a guy the looked around Sriya's age with familiar platinum-blond hair. He leaned back in the chair, facing away from Sriya, but she could tell by his posture that he felt like he owned the place. She could just imagine the smug smile he would wear, but she tried not to. It didn't do much to judge if she didn't know them.

Instead, she looked towards Cristina who stood at the counter, stirring a cup of coffee.

"There she is! Sriya come in!" Cristina smiled when she saw Sriya standing awkwardly at the doorway.

"The guy's head turned, "Sriya?" he asked.

"Sriya's brain paused for a second. She recognized that voice. "Leo?"

"Ah!" Cristina jumped in, "So you two know each other? That's great. Well, Sriya, Leo's the reason we have this manor to ourselves. Well, the three of us, Leo is joining."

Leo nodded, "This was my parent's place, you know my dad, Scorpius and whatnot? But they gave it to me, they found some... some where they preferred. They gave the house, willingly of course, to me."

 _Why would you say willingly if it wasn't?_ Sriya thought, the face of Harry Potter flashing before her.

She remembered how and when she had met Leo. It was a chilly day at Hogwarts, and it was Potions class for the Slytherin and Hufflepuff fourth years.

Sriya clutched onto her books, hoping for them not to fall. She walked with a few of her friends whose names were Riley, Sky, and Maya. Sky and Riley were in Gryffindor, and Maya was in Slytherin. The Gryffindors deserted them before the group had gotten to the dungeons because they had DADA. Sriya and Maya entered the Potions classroom, and took seats next to each other. This was supposed to be the day the partners would be switched. Sriya secretly hoped her partner would be Maya. Professor Brugha entered the classroom swiftly, and magicked a piece of parchment in the thin air. She started to read aloud the pairings on the paper aloud./p

"Bryan and Sophie, Jamie and Jared, Maya and Spencer,"

Sriya leaned over to Maya. "Oooh, you gotta a bad one…" she whispered.

Professor Brugha continued on with the list.

"Gavin and Anna, Miles and Andrea, Mackenzie and Maguire, Cassidy and Logan, Ashley and Tara, Delaney and Jack, Katie and Joey, Delsie and Kyle, Sally and Ronan, April and David, Niharika and Brian, and finally, Sriya and Leo." Professor said with a sigh.

Sriya inwardly groaned. Leo is one of THOSE kids, the kind that everyone knew about. The kind everyone wants to be. The kind of person that almost everyone of the opposite gender adores or loves. Sriya was glad she wasn't one of them. She heard they were VERY arrogant.

"And since you've had the same partners for about half the year before, I figured you could have the rest of the year with these ones," The professor continued.

\Sriya had a sudden urge to bang her forehead against the desk. She pushed the feeling aside, doing that in public was embarrassing. Sriya got up and walked over to a table, where Leo sat, waiting for her. They quickly did some introductions and got to work on their potion. He wasn't as bad to work with as Sriya thought he'd be. Yes, he was slightly arrogant, actually he was mostly arrogant, but he wasn't bad. Overtime, they became good friends. Working with the same person for a class that you had more than once a week meant a lot of time to socialize. They were also very good friends all through Sriya's fifth year, which was also her last.

She tried to push her suspicions aside about how Leo got the manor. It was getting a little lonely with their only being two people and besides, hanging out with Leo could be fun again. Maybe they could get closer, with his sassy remarks and her shy ones. Besides, it couldn't possibly hurt having another person who was in her year be here. The word boring wouldn't exist.

The word disaster can though

* * *

 **A/N: Sorry for any issues with punctuation in the story. I was about to upload the chapter, but it got glitches where all the writing was mixd in with the source code. I'm telling you, I'm not lying, it looked like this:**

/spanspan style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"At least it's not for the rest of the year! /spanspan style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"she thought. /span/p

 **And it was very, very annoying. The chapter would've been longer if that hadn't happened. But I can tell you, I'm never hitting _that_ button again.**

 **I'm also wondering if I should change the title of the story? Does anybody have any** **opinions or ideas?**

 **But, besides the fact I completely messed up before, I hoped you enjoyed. I'll problem be updating almost daily, or at least for a week. Then it might be weekly. (I say that then I problem won't update for a mont, going back on my promise. Maybe I should swear on the Styx? Nah, too dangerous...)**

 **Eltweetio: Thank you for all your reviews! It's great support. You win the prize of virtual cookies for being the first person to ever review this!**

 **'Till next time**

 **-UnwantedAutumn**


	7. Chapter 7 - Taking Flight

**Disclamer: We don't own any of this nor are we making a profit off this story...and all of your other standard disclaimers to ensure you aren't sued or anything.**

* * *

The room of requirement was always different. When her Grandma, Ginny, told the story it was a big room with pillows for practicing charms, books and beanbags to look up spells and study, and a lot of space for the D.A. to practice. When her dad told the story, it was a room for tinkering with spells he had thought of, (though most them just blew things up, by accident of course). Or occasionally it was a mini pitch to practice quidditch.

But now Ariella Potter had her own story to tell. In her first two years, it had been a place for her friends to experiment with becoming an animigus. They were all very curios about it ever since she heard her great-great grandpa could become a stag when he was a student. Sadly, it was harder than they thought it would be. But a least they'd gotten past the point of studying their animals, which took even longer since they couldn't form a patronus and had to go the dream route of figuring out their animal states.

But even though they still tried to tackled the huge feat, (which they might not do until fourth, and more likely, fifth year), Ariella had a different use for the room now. The story of the Room of Requirement she would tell involved how the roof was two stories tall, and on the wall near the roof there was a small platform which was accessible by ladder. Beneath the sturdy platform was a giant cushion, big enough to soften a fall from the platform. But that wasn't all, there were statues of birds mid-flight and standing tall. Perfect for studying the anatomy and motion, sort of like studying to be an animagus.

Ariella stood at the door for a minute, taking it all in. Then she walked over to the giant cushion. Leaning back, she let herself fall onto of it as she breathed a sigh of relief.

She hated lying to her friends, but she wasn't quite ready to share this with them yet.

Ariella pulled the rectangular shaped lump that she kept hidden from beneath her cloak. She brushed the musty cover gently, blowing off the dust that collected on it from being dejected in the farthest corner of the library for so long. But the funny thing was, Ariella noticed, every time she opened the book the pages moved easily and small fresh prints and tears were found thorough it. It was almost as if someone had used it not to long ago, but still long enough. Maybe she'd ask Uncle Albus, maybe he would know of someone who used the book.

But it wasn't time to solve this mystery. No, it was time to learn this incredibly skill the book had promised. Ariella scanned the cover again, as if soaking it all in. _The Past Takes Flight: From Brooms to Rugs to The Long Lost Art of Solo Flying._ Brushing her hair out of her eyes she flipped to the chapter about the study of birds. It seemed irrelevant, but there were bird statues around her and it might help studying them now later on. She scanned the highlights:

 _Birds are an easy model to study the art of flying on. Every wizard or witch should have an owl in their community..._

Ariella scanned ahead, already having the statues around her.

 _Birds often fly for practical reasons; mainly for food, to avoid predators, or mating. It is not often you'll see a bird fly just for the fun of it, like a human would. For this reason flying may be difficult to those who want to do it for the thrill. Though sometimes, such as in circus acts, wizards and witches find themselves manipulating the air slightly because this falls under the category of "showing off" which is associated with mating. Or even in Quidditch the air can be moved because this counts as a survival reason, because if you win you get money to spend on food and shelters._

Ariella made a mental note of this thinking it would come in handy. But this wasn't the information she wanted, she wanted to learn _how_ to fly. She scanned ahead to the part of how a bird's anatomy helps someone fly.

 _When studying birds, start at the center where they hold their balance. The center of gravity for a bird is similar to a humans, so this is a key part to study._

Ariella held the book at her favorite model, the red tailed hawk and read the rest of the chapter intently, learning how to go with the winds and breezes instead of fighting them. She learned how to carry herself gracefully but strongly because a clumsy flyer would be a fast faller. It was almost ten at night by the time she finished the lengthy, but intriguing chapter. Her eyes were starting to droop from straining them so much. In the end, she decided it was time to wrap it up.

As she closed the cover she stole last-time glimpse at the platform that stood near the ceiling. Without thinking twice she ran up towards the steady ladder and climbed up like a cat, not breaking pace until both feet stood on the ledge. The floor down below looked farther away up here than it did down on the ground, and she gulped her palms suddenly clammy. She swayed a little, dropping down on one knee to regain her balance.

But she remembered her excitement while reading the book, and how long she studied those diagrams. So she stood tall again. She pushed down on her legs as if she was kicking off on a broom for Quidditch, and with a final breath and brushing her sweaty palms on her black cloak, she jumped.

For a second after she pushed off she felt nothing. her mind was blank and she was weightless. Just floating through the clouds like a lost ballon. She didn't really see at all, only felt the wind whip past her and scatter her hair. She managed to maintain a diving position, but now her arms were being pushed back towards her side, so she was falling head first. She no longer felt light weight like a ballon, she felt tied down like a kite on a string, and without releasing it she was already half-way to the ground. _I'd been falling that whole time? But it felt so... free!_ Butterflies settled into her stomach scattering her dinner and pushing it up towards the back of her throat. The butterflies increased into a swarm of jellyfish making her shiver all over, they tingled their way into her arms and legs, turning them into jelly. But even though her limbs felt weak, her stomach felt like heavy anvil weighing her down as she fell rapidly. And in the blink of any eye she was sucked into the enormous air cushion. It felt like she was dropped into water as the cool cushion pushed her back up towards the surface.

 _Breathe,_ her mind told her, after she released she was lying down still. Too still. She took an unsteady breathe, her cheeks flushed to a bright red and her arms and legs tingling all over from the free falling feeling. She blinked hard, blinking out tears that were formed when the air pushed up against her eyes. She could' believe it. She fell hard and fast. like a giant boulder. Even after she spent that much time studying and reading about those birds. Was that a waste? Was it a stupid idea, to be able to fly? She was just a third year! Could she be anymore stupid?

Ariella shook her head trying to clear away the doubts.

No, she wasn't stupid. This was just for fun, like becoming an animagus. And it would be just as hard. What did she expect? To succeed at the first time? That's a silly idea, the book stated clearly that this would be hard, and would be even harder if she doubted she could do it.

With a grunt she picked up her still tingling body and headed towards the Gryffindor tower, throwing her invisibility cloak on as she left the room. It was time for bed, and she doubted her pillow trick will last forever, her friends liked to go to bed near 10:15 and she would be caught.

Ariella hurried as fast as she could, never stopping until she was under the soft, heavy covers of the Gryffindor beds at 10:10 (On her now corrected watch). With five minutes to spare, she sighed a deep, relieved sighed before drifting off into unconscious.

* * *

 **A/N: I tried some new styled while writing this chapter, which is why it took me a little longer. But I'm really satisfied with the result and I hope you** **guys are too. Even though not a lot of plot-related stuff happens in this chapter, this chapter will become important later on as she progresses with this new hobby. But this chapter also shows a lot about Ariella's character, from why she's in Gryffindor to how she study really hard, especially on her own.**

 **I know it was hard to catch but did anyone catch the subtle hints about the Cursed Child? That's where Delphi was mentioned flying, and she could've used the book in the past to become like her dad, Voldemort, who could also fly.**

 **And if anything I said is wrong, please let me know, I'll gladly fix it.**

 **\- Unwanted Autumn**


	8. Chapter 8 - Laetus Lux and Arguments

**Disclaimer:** **We don't own any of this nor are we making a profit off this story...and all of your other standard disclaimers to ensure you aren't sued or anything.**

* * *

Sriya was waiting outside the Malfoys mansion on the front lawn. Even though it was still warm, cool breezes were cutting through the trees. Sriya brushed her black hair out of her eyes as she checked her new watch, curtsy of Cristina. She was supposed to meet her outside the manor, to go where, she didn't know.

As she waited Sriya let her thoughts wander, mainly to thoughts of what life would be like as a criminal on the run. In her opinion, she should have a criminal free record. All she ever did was be extremely loyal to her friend. (She was a Hufflepuff for a REASON).

Sriya was pacing at the bottom of the Manor's entrance steps when she heard the door slam shut behind her. She looked up expecting Cristina's dirt blood hair and Cristina's smile to greet her. But when she saw a boy with bright platinum hair she did a double take.

"Leo, what are you doing here?" Sriya asked straightening out her robes.

Leo lifted one of his eyebrows. "I could ask the same to you."

"Well, Cristina said to meet her out here, so that's what I'm doing, waiting for Cristina."

"Really? That's what I'm doing too. I guess we'll wait together?" Leo asked, though it sounded more of a command than a question.

Silence hung through the air like a heavy blanket. A very awkward blanket.

"So," Sriya half mumbled while straightening her robes again, "how's life?"

"Is that how you start all your conversations? That's very boring, how about something like: Do you know how a rubber duck functions? That would be more conversational," Leo replied, slicking his hair back.

"Well, it's been a while since Hogwarts. I don't know what you've been doing for these past few years," Sriya shot back defensively.

"I could say the same to you."

"You already used that line," Sriya stuck out her tongue. "I win!"

"This is a competition?"

"Isn't everything with you?"

"Well, at least I won at avoiding prison for the longest." Leo's face seemed to redden.

"Well, at least didn't tale my parent's house away!" Sriya crossed her arms.

"Who said that?" Leo's face was unmistakably looking more and more like a tomato.

"Well, why did your parents leave this house abruptly when it was in the family since longer than anyone in your family can remember?" Sriya yelled.

"How do you know that fact" Leo snorted crossing his arms so they matched Sriya.

"Don't change the subject!" Sriya snarled as faint rain clouds formed overhead.

"Don't be so rude!" Leo growled as the air cooled slightly.

"Well at least I didn't ditch my friend when she was accused of something she didn't do! TWICE!"

"What was _I_ supposed to do about _your_ stupid prophecy!" Sriya looked taken aback, but quickly fired her response, almost spitting out the words.

"That wasn't my freakin' fault you idiot! I've told you this countless times!"

"The same amount of times you lied to me?" Leo raised his arms, his hands clenched into fists.

"Me? Lied! What about the Manor then? Huh? Huh?" Sriya pushed.

"I already told you, you fu-"

"Will you two shut up? I've been standing here for a least a gapped thirty seconds now yet neither of you noticed the loud crack when I appearated in front of both of you!" Cristina cried exasperated.

They both shut up immediately. Sriya uncrossed her arms and stood up tall, though she still glared daggers at Leo. Leo lowered his arms and crossed them and he relaxed his shoulders, but still returned the glare.

"Okay, good. Now that you two children..."

"Children," Leo muttered.

"... have stopped bickering we can do what I planned?" Cristina continued, pointedly ignoring Leo.

* * *

"I know you're not the type of person who likes revenge plans," Cristina said to Sriya as they all stopped in front of a painting.

Sriya didn't recognize who was in the painting at first. In fact, it took her a few solid seconds before realization kicked in. Though it was pretty fair since she hasn't seen many pictures of this man that had him with a nose on his face, or hair, or skin that didn't show all the veins on his pale-white face.

It was a picture of her grandfather, Tom Riddle, and a beautiful background: He was standing in front of the ocean, in the sunset. The sky shaded from twenty different shades of pale orange to a hot pinkish color. The ocean was orange too near the horizon, turning into a deep blue near the shore. Out of the calm water quickly appeared roaring waves, then quickly faded with a giant splash; water drops flied out of the picture, but Cristina held one hand up before any of the drop reached them. The water drops stopped in place and turned into mist.

The man in the picture grinned at the girl, "Correct password." The door opened and revealed a hidden room.

"But I do want revenge without your help or not." Cristina followed up on her thought as she stepped into to this hidden room, hidden to even Leo, Sriya noted, because he had a confused look spread across his face. When he saw Sriya glancing at him, all emotion fading from his eyes leaving just the unnerving ice blue irises.

"You coming or not?" Cristina asked as she stepped farther in without looking back. It was a large room, half as large as entry hall to the Manor (which was pretty big considering the Malfoys had a history of showing off). Though unlike the entry hall, the room was windowless and the only light came from crystal like objects scattered all over a table near the center. The table was surrounded by cauldrons and bookshelves crammed full of scrolls and books and statues. The crystals onto of the dark, wooden table were shining brightly, color exploding all over Cristina's face as it had in the room. Neon green, blue and pink, dancing on Cristina's face as she moved. Despite the beautiful paintings that surrounded them or the interesting statues on the shelves, Sriya's eyes couldn't help but gravitate towards those little crystals of light.

"Oh, those," Cristina said as if she could read Sriya's mind, "those are Laetus lux, Latin for colorful light. Outcomes of one of my successful... experiments." Cristina walked to a shelf and picked a random crystal. She carefully held it up as it was made out of glass, and then handed it out to Sriya.

"You can have one if you want," Cristina said with a smile.

"Um, I'll think about it..." Sriya said unsurely, wondering what she meant about... experiments. _First Leo, maybe Cristina..._

"All right. It's not like it's deadly. Tell me when you change your mind." Cristina walked over to face the bookshelves.

"I have never seen this... lab," Sriya said carefully, pocketing the crystal. Behind her Leo took two of the table without hesitation.

"That's because I never shoved you before, silly." Cristina searched throughout the books. They looked hundreds of years old, their colors faded and left to a dull brown, grey, green and black. A dark brown book with teeth and at least twelve eyes growled at Cristina as she passed by. "Oh calm down boy. I'm not afraid of you."

The book faded back into the shadows.

Sriya and Scorpius' son looked at each other as Cristina searched through the shelves. The boy's white-blond hair was messy, and his gray eyes seemed to pierce into the souls of anyone who looked into them.

 _Wait, gray? They were just ice blue!_ Sriya thought confused. _It must have been a trick of the light, his eyes had been gray for his whole life._

Her pulse started to get a little faster as he stared back at her eyes, analyzing them in the same way she did. He looked confused, but then he closed his eyes for two seconds and opened them back up to a neutral face.

 _They are both being very secretive..._

"Don't look at each other like that. I can see you both. You can think anything you want. But I have a good reason why I'm acting like this." She took a step to the right and took a book off the shelf and walked back to the table.

"I have read all these books in this room, from the most famous wizards and witches. And after a while, I found this." Cristina turned around holding a thick volume book, only to find Sriya's face looking back longingly as she was dragged away by Leo.

But before Cristina could say anything, Sriya was dragged away completely and Cristina felt the confusion spread in her brain. Maybe she doesn't want revenge after all... After what they did to her. Or, Leo didn't want revenge, Sriya looked forced away.

 _Leo didn't seem to trust Cristina at all with this revenge plan,_ Sriya thought frustrated. Leo finally stopped moving so fast when they were far from the door. She grabbed Leo's arm tightly before he could say anything and apparated to the shrieking shack.

" Why," Sriya blasted at him, "did you drag me away!?" Leo looked shocked and backed up.

"I don't think that you should be part of that revenge plan." He said staring at her with cold, emotionless eyes. This scared Sriya, but she didn't show it.

"Who are you to tell me what to do?" She questioned him.

"I was told to by Mum and Dad." Sriya looked at him, confused.

"Why..." Sriya started but was cut off by Leo.

"They want me to make sure you don't do anything stupid. " And with that remark Leo strolled off. He seemed kind of mad and kind of upset. _Maybe I shouldn't have yelled at him..._

* * *

 _I'm doing this all for her,_ Cristina thought in her head. _I want revenge after what those bastards did to her. They are the reason why she was stuck in Azkaban. Just because she is different, or actually, mostly the same. Why is that bad? She could have a cold heart for all I care, like Leo. My grandfather didn't have feelings. That's what made him powerful. That's what made me powerful. And it will make Sriya powerful. They are only afraid. Afraid of war, of loss. Afraid of our power. Only she has a warm heart, she's kind and loyal. But, will it work?_ She slammed the secret door shut and stormed out of her room. "They don't have to accept her. But they will face the consequences."

"And Leo..." Cristina ran towards the stairs. "He doesn't have the right to just drag her around. Maybe he is with them. Probably. I thought he was our allie. But I guess not. He shall end the way the others will." As she hopped off the last step, she noticed the two of them. Together. Talking. As Sriya turned to leave, Leo looked at her with amazement, caring, and with something else. "Oh. So that's how it is." Cristina watched as they left, and her mouth curled up into an evil grin. Her heart pounded sadly as she watched Leo walk away. _I will end this._

* * *

 **Hello again! Is anyone glad to know I'm not dead?**

 **I'm sorry it took me so long to update this post, even with life going on all** **around me I probably could've found time for this, so, I'm not going to try to avoid the blame at all.**

 **But besides that, yeah. If your confused about anything I'll gladly answer questions.**

 **And thank you Sriya (guest commenter)! I'm so sorry it took so long to respond. And yes, I did draw the cover!**

 **-Unwanted Autumn**


	9. Chapter 9 - Sorry

A/N:

I'm so, so, so, so, so, so, so, so, so, so, sorry.

I haven't updated in forever and now all I have to offer is an author's note.

I'm the worst.

But I can tell you this story isn't dead and there will be another chapter.

Though if anyone has some good quidditch pointers or descriptions please tell me!

Please don't kill me

-UnwantedAutumn


	10. Chapter 10 - Quidditch Tryouts

Ariella was surprised to find that only twenty-seven students from Gryffindor were trying out. It wasn't like there was anything wrong with Scotty Oak, Gryffindor's captain. No, there couldn't possibly be, he has managed to grasp the quidditch cup for the second year in June, which is surprising since this was his third year actually playing quidditch. That made his some sort of prodigy, Ariella guessed.

And there was nothing else going on this weekend, majority of the school's clubs didn't start until next week.

Then it hit her.

Like, it hit her literally. It was hard not to see, especially since her hair was soaking wet.

Ariella snapped out of her thoughts immediately from shock. She didn't even realize it was raining! And they had just walked all the way to the pitch!

"Hey Peter, did you know it was raining?" Ariella asked.

"Jeez, it's raining? I couldn't tell, I just thought someone casted a large aguamenti spell and that's why my clothes are all soaked, and the lawns soaked, and why the clouds are large and gray….." Peter remarked. ""I mean, c'mon? How stupid are you to not realize it's raining!"

Ariella smiled sheepishly. "I was thinking… and I'm nervous."

"Well, at least there's going to be less people this year trying out making it easier to get in," Peter commented.

"True, but all these people trying out must be good, to be playing in the rain like this."

"How oblivious are you today? Did someone put something in your pumpkin juice?" Peter laughed.

"What are you talking about?"

"We're playing in the rain too, Ariella! And, no offense, we're not the most experienced people in the world either. I'm sure we'll be fine, and besides, there's always next year."

Ariella smiled as she grabbed her broom from the broom cupboard outside the locker rooms. "Yeah, your right."

Scotty blew his whistle and in less than a second everyone was up in the air.

"Okay!" Scotty shouted. "For a warm-up I want you all to fly around the field twice! Once you've -"

One of the players started to zip around the field, cutting Scotty off. The player looked very determined to finish the warm-up, and he didn't even notice all the glare being sent his way.

"Hey!" Scotty yelled, waving his arms above his head in attempt to get the guy's attention. "Mitch! Hey! Micth! C'mon we didn't even start yet and you're breaking my rules!"

But Mitch didn't hear, and almost crashed into the rest of the players as he neared the end of his first lap. Mitch, confused and startled as to why everyone was at the start still, slipped off his broom and started falling.

Scotty ran to catch him in the nick of time.

"Mitch…" Scotty sighed. "I'm sorry buddy, but I don't think you'll make it on the team."

"That's okay," The sandy-haired boy replied.

Scotty, after holding him bridal style, helped him to his feet and waved him goodbye.

Scotty turned back to the team, his cheeks red, most likely from the rain. "Okay guys, that was a really good example of what not to do here. It's important that you follow all of my rules and listen carefully, this ensures that the team works fluidly and efficiently in practice and in games, okay?"

"Okay," everyone echoed.

"Great!" Scotty, clasped his hands. "So fly around the pitch twice, then land down and sort yourselves into groups. The groups are going to be by what position you play because we're going to be testing everyone separately. Got it? Good, go!" Scotty shouted, waving them off.

Ariella almost slipped off when everyone started, but she managed to hold onto her broom again, despite it being as slick as oil with all the rain.

Peter was flying just behind her, but he kept bumping into the back of her broom, causing her to jerk.

She kept going, trying to ignore the rain that was flying into her eyes.

But then Peter bumped her again, harder this time. Hard enough to make her broom dip and fly downwards.

Ariella panicked, her hands slipping. She was going to slam right into the ground at this speed!

The rain splashed straight into her eyes again as one of her hands slipped straight off the handle.

"No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no!" Ariella mumbled trying to wipe the water out of her eyes.

"No, no, no, NO!" She shouted regaining her posture. She gripped the broom tightly and felt a light breeze pass her. Trusting her gut, she followed the soft breeze and ignored the pounding in her head, the rain in her eyes and nose and gripped her broom tightly, steering it back up softly. But then, Ariella realised, why should she join the group again? It was too crowded and she'd most likely get bumped again, and next time she might not be seo lucky. So, as the group finished their second lap, Ariella stayed right below them, only five feet above the ground.

But even though she was close to the floor, there was no one else here. So Ariella leaned into the front of her broom, urging it to speed up. The broom obeyed and quickly Ariella started to speed ahead of the others. She was going so quick it was almost reckless. But Ariella felt in control, she kept zooming on into the wind not caring that it was biting her nose and making her cheeks and ears red.

Ariella soon caught up to the person in front, though she was a good six feet below her. But with one final nudge she pushed ahead and finished the second lap first, before landing softly on the ground.

Ariella smiled slightly, hoping that the rest of tryouts would go as well as the warm ups.

Ariella saw Peter smiling smugly to himself. He'd done excellent during his tryouts for beater, Ariella would even go as far to say the bat looked like an extension of his arm, the way he managed to hold it like a swords and block everything, everything, from hitting the seeker he was trying out with.

They locked eyes and Ariella nodded at him, smiling back, before focusing back at Scotty.

"Okay, guys. Now with the beater tryouts and seeker tryouts done, I think it makes the most sense for the keepers and chasers to go next."

Ariella nodded in agreement along with the others.

"Okay, so keepers please stand over here, on the right side of me," Scotty pointed to the area in front of the right hoop's base, "and chasers please come over here in the space to the left of me" he pointed to the area in front of the left hoop's base.

"Okay," Scotty clasped his hands again and tried to shake the water out of his black hair, "First things first, here's a towel for each of you to dry off your brooms since it's no longer raining," Scotty threw two towels at each group. Ariella caught one of them, wiped her broom quickly, then offered it to the person next to her. Scotty had taken out his clipboard again and was writing down notes, making Ariella feel like this was a test in it of itself.

Actually, Ariella felt like everything was a test, Scotty seemed to jot down notes randomly. For instance, when Grace cheered on Peter for making a great hit with the bludger Scotty smiled at Grace and jotted down something.

Ariella soon broke out of her thoughts when Scotty spoke again.

"Okay, so I want you chasers to divide yourself into two even teams, for tryouts you'll be playing a scrimmage against each other. For the keepers, you guys, and gals, will be taking turns at the hoops, so divide into two lines. Got it? Okay, go!"

The chasers all shrugged awkwardly to each other and just, spilt. There were a few adjustments here and there, but when they were all divided evenly (Well, it didn't take that long, there were just six chasers trying out and there's only three per team, so…) they looked back at Scotty, who was busy with his clipboard.

He looked up, his dark brown eyes scanning the teams. He smiled, then clasped his hands again, and yelled "Okay guys, ready?"

Ariella shrugged "Yeah."

Everyone else nodded.

Scotty gave them all an encouraging smile tne blew his whistle. In no time, the teams rocketed into the air and watched as Scotty threw the quaffle up into the air.

Acting on instinct, Ariella zoomend towards it to catch it. She had one hand in the air, reaching out to grab it. She could practically feel the leather on her fingers and in seconds she had a firm grip on it.

Unfortunately, Keith, a bulky fifth year, had the same idea too. The collided in the air, but Ariella was determined to win. She clutched the ball close to her chest and dove down, Keith hot on her heels, his broom so close she could feel his breath.

With quick thinking Ariella jerked back up from her dive, leaving Keith in the dust. She passed it quickly, knowing the trick only bought her a few seconds, but it was worth it when her teammate, Joey Jog, received the pass.

Yes! Ariella celebrated slightly in her head. But she quickly focused again, taking in her surroundings and analyzing her opponents.

By now all the rain clouds have dispersed, leaving a soft blue sky in their wake. People have started to come out to watch the tryouts and Ariella could hear them cheering on their friends. But something else caught her eye.

Rebecca.

Ariella was surprised, she only just met her and Peter, but here she was, sitting out in the stands cheering Ariella's name. But it didn't bother her. No, not at all. Instead Ariella smiled and joined the game again.

She flew around a sixth year on the opposite team, taking a defensive position and guarding him. Ariella saw Keith ahead, already throwing the quaffle towards them. So did her opponent.

They both leaned in on their brooms, trying hard to be the fastest. Ariella glanced at the girl's broom next to her.

A Fire Dasher 6! Ariella internally panicked. That's their third fastest model! I can't beat that with my Lightning 4!

Ariella pushed on her broom, the quaffle was flying lower than Keith intended, but with the lack of speed it wouldn't work in her favor. Unless she tried a different tactic.

Ariella whipped out of her dive, surprising her opponent who glanced back at her. Ariella smiled, and as fast as she could she dashed to the other side of the girl causing her opponent to look back at her and take her focus off her dive.

Using the moment of confusion Ariella dived in again, snatching the quaffle again from a fake-out. She dove upwards satisfied, but that only lasted for a second as Sam, a fellow third year, slammed into her, knocking the quaffle out of her hands.

Sam zipped on, his arms already prepping to shoot. Ariella tried to steady herself again to intercept, but Stacey, her final teammate, beat her to it, fortunately. Stacey passed it back to their keeper, and their keeper kicked it right out of the air and towards Joey.

Ariella flew on.

Each play happened in twenty seconds or less, each player amped up with adrenaline. In less than seven minutes there were three more amazing blocks, one goal, and five tackles and dives.

With everything going well, Ariella risked a glance at the small crowd and spotted Rebecca.

But there was something wrong.

Rebecca wasn't cheering anymore, she was backed up against the wall of the stands by no one else except

Oliver.

Ariella was enraged and completely abandoned the pass that was coming towards her. She flew over towards the stands as fast as she could.

She saw Oliver taking out his wand and mouthing the words -

"Petrificus totalus!"

Rebecca shrieked as she fell backwards, frozen. Ariella saw Oliver smirk, and he started to walk away.

Started to, that is, until Ariella flew into the stands and blocked his path. She jumped gently off her broom and whipped out her wand.

"What are you doing?" Ariella shouted, slamming her foot on the ground.

"Pay back," Oliver shrugged. "I asked to sit with her during breakfast and she refused. Of Course I was a little angry, and commented back, but I didn't say anything rude! No, I wouldn't. But then, all of the sudden as I'm walking away, she insults me!" In the distance a whistle blew.

"Mmmf!" Rebecca tried to shout. "MMMfff!" She tried again, trying to shift her head towards something.

Ariella glanced back at Rebecca. "And that's why you were planning on leaving her outside, frozen, until someone found her?"

"Exactly! Thank you for understanding, you see -"

Ariella cut him off. "All I see is a liar. You shouldn't go around demanding things rudely, and you shouldn't mess with my friends!"

Ariella was just thinking of a spell to say when she heard a soft "Ahem," behind her.

She and Oliver both turned around to see the source of the noise.

Scotty.

Ariella was suddenly embarrassed, she just abandoned the game!

"You can't just leave the game like that you know." he spoke softly.

"Sorry," Ariela mumbled, looking down.

"But it was for a good reason, your friend was being attacked by Oliver here, who I know personally to be a mean guy."

Oliver gulped. "Look, man, can we get over that issue from last year? I-I didn't know she was your girlfriend!"

"Sure, sure… you didn't know, especially when she kissed me in the Great Hall right near where you were sitting," Scotty crossed his arms.

"I-I-I'm sorry, dude…"

"You should be. Now go! I don't want to see you at any of my tryouts or practices again!"

Oliver scrambled away. Scotty faced Ariella.

"That was the right thing to do, though you abandoned your team mates. But I'm hoping that if you made the team you'd defend them just like you did to your friend?"

"Yes, I would," Ariella hoped that that was the right answer.

"Good," Scotty nodded, thinking.

"Okay, I'll give you another shot, but you're still on the same grounds as everyone else trying out, got it? You had a better reason than Mitch for flying off without instruction."

Ariella nodded, hopping back on her broom, rejoining the game.

"Don't try anything stupid!" Scott yelled.

I hope he doesn't think I'm too much of a reckless player…

* * *

 **Yay! I'm not dead! And I'm back again with the longest chapter I've written so far!**

 **Well, what do you think? This was the first quidditch related thing I've ever written, so I'm a bit nervous about it.**

 **But anyways, I owe any apology to anyone who was looking forward to an update. A lot has been happening at my school, there's been a lot of hate going around and things got bad enough that the police got involved. So I've been very occupied, especially since I was a part of the group some students were targeting.**

 **But I'm fine and good and stuff. I got free candy recently, so that's a plus!**

 **\- UnwantedAutumn.**


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